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sulphuric and nitric acid '-d inarily employed in the manufacture of gun.-

ATEN trioa ISTEPHENYV-HYEMMENS, or 'HARRISONQNEW ro RK,

EXPLOSIVEr srn'cIrIcmIoN armi g part of Letters Patent ms; 423,230}dated march 11, 1890. V hpplication filed Jnly'Z, 1889' Serial No.316,320. (Notptgiinens-l To aZZ w-hom it may concern:

Beit known-that I, STEPHEN H. EMMENS, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at-Harriso'n, in the county ofVtestchester and" State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements inExplosivesjand Ido hereby declare the-followingptobe a full, clear, and exact description of the-invention, such as willenable others skilled inithe art to which appertains' to makeand use thesame.- i

' The objectof my invention is the production of explosives-of Ithegun-cotton class in {a mannerastorenderthemnwze stable n rm r the ease.

" lpfr'cfer to carry my inventionfinto effect i'n th e,=followingmanner: In abath' of mixed of flthe strength orootton-I steep 'unsizedpaperjfor a period of about .two minutes. I then remove the papera'nfd'wash it a numberof times successively with cold water. AfterthisIplacethe washed paper in a bath consisting of a cold aqueous solution ofcarbonate of ammonia,.and allow it 'to remain therein until allefiervescence ceases. I then remove the paper to another bathcontainin'ga strong solution of picric acid heated to a temperature of100 cent-ig'rade, or there'about; In this bath the paper is allowed toremain for about ten minutes, and is then suspended in another vesselcontaining ammoniacal water until the adhering 'picric acid 15 by. theaction of the gaseous am monia in the. atmosphere of the vessel con-..verted into pigrate of ammonia. The paper pQWQI'fHl than has hithertobeen is then removed and dried, when it becomes ready for use as anexplosive, either for the manufacture of cartridges for fire-armsorinany other way that maybe desired.

If a granulated explosive be required, I em-f ploy any of the variousforms of pulp used in preference to treating The process to which such.

for paper-making, finished paper.

pulp is subjected is identical with that above described in the case ofpapen The explo siv e substances thus produced difier from the ordinaryforms of gun-cotton, gunaper, and nitro-lignose 1n the followingrespects: First, all-free acid adhering after removal I v rro'm'thenitrifying-bathvis 'eifectually neutralized by the. carbonate ofammonia; second, thenitrate of ammonia formed in the pores of the 'isubstance is decomposed by the-picric-acid bath, and the nitric acidthus set free tends to complete the nitrification of any particles ofunchanged or partially changed cellulose;

third, the exposure-to an atmosphere of ammo: v

nia not only neutralizes any remaining free acid, but' causes the poresof the substance to become charged with picrate of ammonia,

which in itself is a powerful explosive.

I claim as my inventiona An. explosive substance consisting of paper'orpaper-stock converted into a nitro pound and impregnated with ammoniaand picri'c acid, substantially as described. In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two Witnesses. I STEPHEN H. EMMENS.\V-itnesses:

H. EDGELL,

NEWTON W. EMMENS.

